Unstoppable diving duo Chris Mears and Jack Laugher are the proud owners of a gold medal which they won in the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. The gold medal is the second to be awarded at the games, winning the men’s synchronised 3m springboard final.
Taking to Instagram Jack said, ‘GOLD WITH MY BEST BUD @mearschris93 đ Couldn’t be happier!!!!’
UK Sports Challenged to hold similar events after Australian gay team wins historic rugby game – International Rugby legends Gareth Thomas and John Eales call for end to discrimination.
Two international rugby legends are congratulating Australiaâs first gay rugby union team for its decisive win during an historic game. They are also urging sports in the UK and around the world to do more to tackle homophobia in sport.
The Sydney Convicts were the first gay rugby team, and only the second gay team in the world, to play at a professional sporting event (the first was French soccer match in 2006).On Sunday, the Convicts beat the Macquarie University Warriors 30-12 during a âcurtain raiser,â a game held ahead of the international âSuper Rugbyâ match between the NSW Waratahs (AUS) and Highlanders (NZ) at Allianz Stadium.
Sydney Convicts Head Coach Charlie Winn said, ‘The curtain raiser was a once in a lifetime experience for the team and Iâm proud we made the most of this historic opportunity to show gay men can and do play quality rugby. I hope weâve opened the door to similar games being held in the future around the world.’
International rugby superstar and former Wales captain Gareth Thomas is one of only two professional rugby players in the world to have come out of the closet. He came out in 2009. He said, ‘I congratulate the Sydney Convicts for winning this historic game, it certainly says a lot about the calibre of gay rugby teams around the world. Thankfully we are moving incredibly quickly toward attitudes changing about gay people and whether they can play tough sports like rugby. This may be the first gay team invited to play a curtain raiser but I hope it’s not the last. Rugby is a game for all shapes, sizes and personalities and it needs to be a game for everyone regardless of sexuality. I think rugby can lead the way in changing sporting culture and I’m very hopeful we’ll see more games like this in the UK and around the world.’
Another international rugby legend, John Eales, the most successful captain in Australian rugby history, agrees with Gareth Thomas. The retired Wallaby is also a âBingham Cup Ambassador.â He said, ‘I am very proud of the Convicts for making history while also challenging stereotypes around gay men. Sports can and must lead society and be welcoming for everyone. Itâs always disappointing to hear stories of people who donât play sports because they fear discrimination. I’m sure that by holding historic events like this weekend’s curtain raiser and taking other steps to publicly support gay people, we can help eradicate homophobia and discrimination in sport.’
This historic curtain raiser was part of a series of anti-homophobia initiatives led by Australian sporting organisations in partnership with organisers of next monthâs Bingham Cup, the world cup of gay rugby, being held in Sydney. This includes the first international study on homophobia in sports, which is collecting experiences of people in the UK and other countries.
www.outonthefields.com
Many of the Sydney Convicts players joined the gay and inclusive rugby team because they didnât feel welcome on other teams. This included Jay Claydon, a winger who joined the Convicts after experiencing homophobia on his semi-professional rugby team. He was named âman of the matchâ after the historic curtain raiser for scoring 3 tries.
Another player, scrum half Jason Fowler, played with the Macquarie University Warriors prior to joining the Sydney Convicts last season. Many of his former teammates only found out he was gay when he played against them as a Sydney Convict. ‘I saw a lot of guys on the field who I was afraid would reject me for being gay just two years ago. Iâm amazed by how my life has come full circle and I can play against them now and be proud. In retrospect my sexuality was not as big a deal as I made it out in my head and my old teammates have been extremely supportive.’
In addition to the curtain raiser game, a panel discussion on homophobia in sport was held during the pre-game show and a feature article on discrimination in sport ran in the program. A 30 second anti-homophobia video was also shown on the Jumbotron, featuring many well-known international athletes. This included Mitchell Johnson (Cricket), Ryan Harris (Cricket), Harry Kewell (Football), Alessandro Del Piero (Football), Paul Gallen (Rugby League), Nate Myles (Rugby League), David Pocock (Rugby Union), Lauren Jackson (Basketball), Nathan Jones (Australian Rules), Sam Mitchell (Australian Rules), Kim Green (Netball) and Libby Trickett (Swimming) The video can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-G4mXUtmeZg
Australians are receiving strong international praise and recognition for their efforts to tackle homophobia. Les Johnson is Vice-President of Membership with the Federation of Gay Games, the worldâs largest LGBT sporting organisation. âWe applaud rugby and Australiaâs other major sports for being trailblazers and for strongly supporting our community. The historic initiatives being led by Australians are significant developments in the worldwide effort to end discrimination and make sport welcoming and safe for all.â
More about the Bingham Cup: www.binghamcup.com
Australiaâs first gay rugby union team (the Sydney Convicts) will make history when they become the first gay rugby team in the world to play as part of a professional match.
In fact, itâs only the second time in the world that a gay team has been invited to play a curtain raiser ahead of a professional game (the first time was at a French soccer game in 2006). The Sydney Convicts, which play in a mainstream rugby competition, will play against Macquarie University next Sunday afternoon ahead of the game between the NSW Waratahs (AUS) and the Highlanders (NZ) at Allianz Stadium. The event is part of wider efforts by both organisers of next monthâs Bingham Cup as well as Australiaâs professional sports to help end homophobia in Australia and around the world.
Nick Phipps plays for the Australian national team the âWallabiesâ as well as the NSW Waratahs. He is also a strong supporter of the Bingham Cup Sydney 2014 said, âSport is such a beautiful thing and in this day and age, there should be no discrimination at all. After getting to know some of the boys who play for the Sydney Convicts, theyâre really good fellas and we want to help them as much as we can. Hopefully the fans also get behind the boys and show their full support, to end discrimination in sport and raise awareness about the Convicts as a team and what they stand for.â
Jason Fowler, a player with the Sydney Convicts, played with Macquarie University (the team the Convicts are playing) prior to joining the gay and inclusive rugby team. Many of his former teammates at Macquarie University didnât find out he was gay until he played against them as a Sydney Convict. âPlaying at Allianz is a once in a lifetime opportunity and the entire team is extremely proud and excited to be making history. For me, Iâm amazed by how my life has come full circle. Just 2 years ago I was afraid to come out of the closet to my teammates, now Iâm playing against them on a gay rugby team as part of a professional sporting event.â
David Whitaker, president of the Sydney Convicts said, âThe Sydney Convicts are very excited and proud to be the first gay and inclusive rugby team to be invited to play as part of a professional sporting match. Often discrimination and homophobia is based on stereotypes that gay people are somehow weak and they canât play tough sports like rugby. We hope this game helps to challenge these misconceptions while also raising awareness that homophobia in sport is still a major issue and gay people often still feel unwelcome,â says
Nick Farr-Jones is one of the most successful captains in Wallabiesâ history. Heâs also Chairman of NSW Rugby and a Bingham Cup Sydney 2014 Ambassador. He said, âNSW Rugby is proud to be a long-time supporter of the Sydney Convicts and their efforts to tackle homophobia. Rugby is very committed to making our sport welcoming to everyone, regardless of their sexuality. I hope this historic curtain raiser will help us continue to send a strong message that there is no room for discrimination of any kind in rugby, both on and off the field.â
As part of the event on Sunday, Allianz Stadium will air a 30 second anti-homophobia TV advertisement during the Waratahs/Highlanders game featuring some of the most well-known athletes in world sport. This includes Mitchell Johnson (Cricket), Ryan Harris (Cricket), Harry Kewell (Football), Alessandro Del Piero (Football), Paul Gallen (Rugby League), Nate Myles (Rugby League), David Pocock (Rugby Union), Lauren Jackson (Basketball), Nathan Jones (Australian Rules), Sam Mitchell (Australian Rules), Kim Green (Netball) and Libby Trickett (Swimming). The Waratahs will also run a feature article in the game program and include a panel discussion on homophobia in sport as part of their pre-game show.
This historic curtain raiser is one of three history making initiatives led by the Australian organisers of Bingham Cup Sydney 2014 to tackle homophobia in sports. In April, they organised a joint commitment by every major professional Australian sport to âeliminateâ homophobia. The sports signed an âAnti-homophobia and Inclusion Frameworkâ and challenged sporting organisations around the world to do the same. The second historic initiative was launching the first national and international study on homophobia in sport involving researchers from 6 universities from Canada, UK, USA and Australia. The study, called Out on the Fields, has already collected the stories and experiences of over 5000 LGBT people worldwide. Researchers hope more people will take part in the study, which can be found at www.outonthefields.com
Australians are receiving strong international praise and recognition for their efforts to change sporting culture. Les Johnson is Vice-President of Membership with the Federation of Gay Games, the worldâs largest LGBT sporting organisation. âThis is only the second time weâve heard of a gay team being invited to be part of a professional sporting match and itâs a first for a gay rugby team. We applaud rugby and Australiaâs other major sports for being trailblazers and for strongly supporting our community. The historic initiatives being led by Australians are significant developments in the worldwide effort to end discrimination and make sport welcoming and safe for all.â
Australian/UK Rugby League stars Sam and Thomas Burgess have joined their South Sydney Rabbitohs teammate, Greg Inglis, in calling for an end to homophobia in sport. Sam and Thomas Burgess have also recorded a video, to be distributed by the NRL and others, encouraging people to take 10 minutes to tell their story in the first national and international study on homophobia in sport.
âI donât see why there should be any discrimination about colour, sexuality, your heritage or where youâre from. Sport is a great thing, and it brings people from all different aspects of life together, so why should your sexuality be a problem? The only way we are going to understand the issue is if people get out there and tell their story so we can help fix it,â said Sam Burgess.
Thomas Burgess agreed and said, âWe have a lot of gay friends and think that discrimination in sport is old fashioned and there is no place for it. In this day and age, we shouldnât be discriminating against anyone, for anything.”
The Burgess Brothers, who play for the team co-owned by Russel Crowe, say they are surprised there arenât more openly gay players in professional sports. They say the study on homophobia in sports will help everyone understand why players donât feel safe in coming out of the closet.
The study, called âOut on the Fieldsâ is an initiative of the organisers of Bingham Cup Sydney 2014 and is first broad based Australian and international study on the issue of homophobia in sport. Participation is open to everyone regardless of sexuality. Those interested can visit www.outonthefields.com. Among other things, the study looks at whether people choose not to play team sports because of fear of discrimination as well as the prevalence of homophobia, such as slurs, among athletes and fans.
The support from the Burgess Brothers follows support from Greg Inglis, who attended an announcement last month by all the major, Australian professional sports who pledged to âeliminateâ homophobia. At the time Inglis said homophobia in sport needs to end, âIf you stamp that out, then it will probably help players that come out a bit more. I’m a big believer, a firm believer, in respecting what others are and who they are. I’m definitely happy to put my hand up and be one of the leaders behind this great initiative.”
Andrew Purchas is a current player as well as founder of the Sydney Convicts Rugby Club, Australiaâs first gay rugby team and president of the Bingham Cup Sydney 2014, the world cup of gay rugby. ‘Sam and Tom Burgess are highly respected locally and overseas for their no nonsense approach to football. Their support for their gay friends and recognition that the only way to eliminate homophobia is to talk about the issue and encourage people to tell their stories will send a strong message to players and fans. This is why itâs so important people take part in this study on homophobia in sport in Australia and around the world. We need to understand the extent of the problem so we can address it now and we have a baseline to track whether there have been any changes over the coming years. It only takes 10 minutes for people to take part in the study and share their story. We also appreciate that the NRL is tackling head on the issue of homophobia in sports. They responded swiftly and decisively to the recent homophobic slur during the U20 State of Origin match and recently became first football code to join Pride in Diversity, Australiaâs peak body for employer GLBT programs.’
The Australian Sports Commission will conduct similar research on homophobia in future years. Out on the Fields is being conducted by sports research company Repucom. The results and final report will be reviewed by researchers at 6 universities around the world.
The study is at: www.outonthefields.com
Sunderland Football Club Backs IDAHO
Sunderland AFC is marking the International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO) by flying the rainbow flag at the Stadium of Light today.
The flag-raising is a mark of recognition of IDAHO Day, which calls for respect for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community.
The Deputy Mayor of Sunderland will also raise a rainbow flag at the Civic Centre to show the cityâs support.
Sunderland AFCâs commercial director Gary Hutchinson said: âThe club is very proud to support IDAHO Day. The Stadium of Light should be a safe and welcoming environment for all members of our community and IDAHO offers a great platform on which to celebrate diversity and promote inclusion.â
Ryan Houston, Chairman of Sunderland Pride, said: âIt’s fantastic to see a group like SAFC supporting International Day Against Homophobia Biphobia and Transphobia. As such as powerful figure within the City, it’s great to see their attitude towards equality and diversity being showcased with an event such as this.
âIDAHO(BIT) is being celebrated across the world from Friday 16th May to Sunday 18th May, and I am delighted to see support to the events we are hosting within the City.â